DragonsDream - Tag It On - Magical Mystery

This fortnight, my DragonsDream teamie Monique has chosen the recipe for "magical mystery" and we are using a little magic, some mystery and a little fairydust.  We'd love you to dream with us.

I chose the embossing resist technique for my magic as I think it is just magical how this resist works, my mystery is how I created the black circles of paint and the fairydust - well that was easy - glitter!!

 I cut the tag from kraft paper and used clear embossing ink and clear ep, before blending Peacock Feathers distress ink over the whole tag. It worked a treat on the kraft tag.  The swirl stamp is one I got from Ally Pally from Paperartsy (designed for using with the popular Gelli plates) .... I think I want need a Gelli plate having seen a video.....

I did some random stamping of a script stamp  (Paperartsy) and my black circles.... shall I tell?  shall I leave you to guess...



ok, then, I used a Stickles lid dipped in Paperartsy Fresco paint and 'stamped' it on the tag...


Added some diddy die cut poinsettia leaves (Tim Holtz)  in fabric and covered them with Picket Fence distress stickles  and added some dictionary definitions of 'magic' and 'mystery'.  The ribbon was left over from the Crafty Boots Design Team play day, coloured with Peacock Feathers DI and heated to let it crinkle.  Some more glitter was added with a glue pen, randomly dotting it in various places over the tag and covering with glitter.

Step over to the DragonsDream blog to see what my talented team-mates have dreamt up for this recipe - and do please share your tags with us. Don't forget to use at least one real stamp!

What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday (182)

Morning fellow desk sharing fans! Time to check in at Julia's for another round of crafty space revealing....

I had an unexpected afternoon off on Tuesday so had a little time to play in my journal - now nearly full (which means I can start the next one, the big fabby one by Dyan Reaveley of Art From the Heart. not going to use it before this is full though!)

Anyhow, the journal pages went a little awry from how I intended so have abandoned them for now...

There's nothing particularly "wrong" with them, they just haven't worked for me, so far! I have had better results with spraying Dylusion inks through a stencil on these pages though - thanks mainly due to Sandra at the Crafty Boots fun day recently. (i.e spray less and from further away!)

However, this one I do like - just need to persuade my white pen to work so I can doodle on the leaves! It was very reluctant on the pages above, I think I've killed it!

(edit - doodling complete!)

Short and sweet from me today, so you can go and check out some more amazing desks.
If you have time, come back later for a new DragonsDream TIO challenge - subject is still a mystery!

Anything Goes - Crafty Boots

This fortnight for Crafty Boots, Faye has set us the challenge of 'Anything goes'

Gabrielle and I decided to set ourselves a challenge and work with similar resources to produce Stephanie-Emma a 'thank you' for arranging the Crafty Boots Design Team crafty day.  The 'must haves' were a kraft tag, Fresco Finish paint, Bingo mask and Wendy's thank you stamp.

Gabrielle was kind enough to invite me to stay with her for the weekend around the DT day so I not only got to rummage through her stash but also to play in her fabulous studio and share some of her things. Thanks, Gabrielle!

 I used claret fresco paint for the base and snowflake for the stencilling.

Borrowed the butterfly stamp (also Wendy's) coloured victorian velvet distress ink on white card scrap, and the main image (Paperartsy) is on kraft card but painted nougat fresco.

I raided Gabrielle's (huuuuuuge) ribbon box for the ribbon.

Snow??

I am writing this with one eye on the TV as Liverpool are playing Swansea and we could do with the win....  It's been ages since I had time to play in my journal.

Some time ago I had some mopped up spray paint (Dylusions) in my journal that was just sitting there and last night I started smooshing the colour around with a wet brush till the page was covered.

 Added some extra sprays to add more colour, and kept faffing - I thought I'd taken some 'during' photos but obviously not!

Added some snowflakes with the large Dylusion snowflake template, and white Paperartsy Fresco paint.

Sponged black soot DI through the small snowflake template and edged the letters with white gel pen, then drew some dots inside the letters.


Added the small reindeer stamp (Tim Holtz) with black archival ink.

This one is without flash. Not sure which shows the page up better!  Now, back to the football....

WOYWW 181 (Crafty Boots Play Day part 2)

I am lucky enough to belong to the Crafty Boots Design Team and last weekend 12 of us (with a few guests) met up in Milton Keynes (a relatively central meeting place) for a day's crafty play.  My What's On Your Workdesk today is in fact the desk from there... yes, a desk. Me... AGAIN!    **picture heavy post, sorry!

 I was able to stay with Gabrielle for the weekend and we arrived early to help set up...

 Bev and her son Tom (on the Junion CB Design Team) hard at play!

Gabrielle and from right to left behind her, Emily (junior DT) Freya (Gabrielle's daughter), Tom again and Sara (standing)

 Bex and Sandra

seem to have cut Faye half out of shot, so sorry! and Zoe, her friend Debs - who had never crafted before and even (kind of) enjoyed getting messy... and is a converted crafter now - yay!!

Freya working on her first project.

 We had about 6 projects lined up, one of which was a book to put them in to keep - these are my projects with a little shopping in the back (stencils)

We also decided to make some swaps, 13 of us decided to do this,  here are the ones I received (my tag - as I made an extra for myself) is the Christmas one on the top right) Some beauties here I think you'll agree!

 Finally, because I am sure you are bored rigid by now - I got to play in Gabrielle's Studio (though I was nearly sent home when I inadvertently called it a shed by mistake once) here she is...

... and here I am - I want a desk of my own at home now.....

Sorry, Julia I know this isn't short, I'll try harder next week.  Not sure how many desks I'll get to today as I have a job interview this morning.

Crafty Boots Play Day (Part 1!)

Whilst you read this I am at the long awaited Crafty Boots Design Team play day, giving as many of us as could get there, a day of crafty play and learning new techniques.

Stephanie-Emma thought it would be a good idea to arrange a swap too, and I eagerly signed up for that - surprise, surprise, I made some tags!!  I went for a Christmas theme and my new Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia die.

I have step by step photos but they are at home and I am writing this at Gabrielle's who has very kindly invited me to stay for the weekend.  I got to play in her STUDIO too!!

Here are all my tags for the swap.

Handle With Care - Tag It On

This fortnight, Silvie has chosen our recipe for the DragonsDream challenge - an animal, something fragile and a warning.

Wasn't quite sure where I was going with this one and not only because I don't have many animal images! In the end, this is my tag!

I happened to be talking to my cousin during the making of this and she did suggest that an elephant isn't the most fragile of creatures, but nature is, and whilst I don't usually get on my soapbox about our environment, I do think it is important that we preserve what we can. So I took to my Dymo label maker... Inks are distress and stamps are Stampscapes (grass and leaves) and Tim Holtz (that gorgeous elly!!)

We'd love to see more of you joining in this time, so I hope you can conjure up a tag (use at least one real stamp) and join in - we love looking at your entries. You have two weeks - ready, steady, stamp!!

WOYWW? Week 180

Welcome to another Wednesday desk hop! I am at home today so I hope - in between Christmas card making - to get to visit a lot of you! Julia is our host as ever - link up your desk here and join in the fun...

There isn't a lot actually going on on the floor today, I'm gathering a few bits and pieces together to take away for the weekend - the Crafty Boots DT I am part of  is having a meet up in Milton Keynes and I am staying with the very lovely Gabrielle  and I'm really looking forward to it. We hit it off as soon as we started commenting on each other's blogs and tweeting, and it was lovely when we first met last year at an Ally Pally show. So it will be great to spend some time with her (and get to play in her studio I hope!) I will also get to meet Zoe (from the WOYWW crop) again as well as several of the other CB design team members. Can't wait!

I have gesso'd some pages in my (nearly full) journal as I am leading a journal painting lesson.... hence the pile of Paperartsy stamps!
The eagle-eyed among you will also spot a tag peeking out from under the journal - but that's for later when the DragonsDream challenge launches, you'll just have to check back later for another Dragon's recipe challenge!!

So, happy desk sharing and hopping - see you soon!

Remember- for Crafty Boots

A fitting subject for the launch of the new Crafty Boots challenge, a day after Remembrance Sunday.  I always find it so moving to watch the service from the Cenotaph in London.

However, you can interpret Bev's theme of 'remember' any way you like to; a person, a pet or a special moment in time, she suggests.

I took the iconic image of a poppy - the stamp is called Poppy Poem, by Penny Black - and stamped it on fabric, painted it with distress inks and a wet paintbrush.  I just mounted it simply on a plain black card.

We look forward to seeing how you interpret the theme this time.

WOYWW 179

Happy WOYWW to you all again - time to meet up at Julia's for another desk reveal.... and as Tuesday was the first Tuesday in the month, it was my Sister-in-law's craft club again so I WAS working on a desk again - I could get used to this!!

Packed my bag on Monday night as there isn't much time to turn round after work and go out again, I do need to eat first too! Once again took far too much...

Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures there .... but I was on a Christmas card kick with my latest fave stamps (JoFY for Paperartsy)

 - here they are - coloured with water colour pencils, though I took the wrong paintbrush to do the watering bit properly so will have to fix them later!

The pan pastels are out because I took them intending to make some backgrounds for the next lot of cards, but ran out of time.

I won a raffle prize, too - the paper strips at the front.

In the plastic pouch (purple) are some swaps I put together for an upcoming DT day for Crafty Boots which is happening the weekend after next.... but it's a secret at present so you can't see them! I did also assemble these tonight, so I wasn't only on card making duty!

Will try and get round as many of you as possible, till then have a good week!